A tough possibility lurks within the 2024 presidential election: To vote or to not vote?
For me, an 18-year-old newly eligible voter, the best way ahead is evident. Regardless of my political disillusionment, I’ll be casting my vote for president come Nov. 5. Sure, the selection is between two candidates who’ve made choices I disagree with and who I discover morally reprehensible. Nonetheless, I’m voting. Our votes aren’t conditional on the standard of the candidates concerned. Sure, the Electoral School exists. I’m voting all the identical. States’ well-liked votes nonetheless matter in winner-take-all electoral methods. Sure, I stay in Washington and my vote won’t considerably have an effect on the statewide vote due to its already blue standing. Nonetheless, I’ll vote. Voting’s impression is realized on a collective scale, not a person one.
I’m voting with the hindsight of 2016, which confirmed us that nonvoters have simply as a lot affect on election outcomes as voters do. I’m voting as a result of the well-being of numerous minority communities takes precedence over my conscience. So, earlier than leaving your poll clean or not voting in any respect, think about amplifying your political voice with out inadvertently harming others.
Danny Pottharst, Seattle
